Octopoda Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - 2018

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon offers an incredible aroma of big black, rich fruit, spring flowers, graphite and toast.  Full-bodied with stunning concentration and flavors of dark cherries, black plum, melted milk chocolate.  Well integrated French oak, this well balanced wine has supple, but ripe tannins and a lengthy finish.  From a single vineyard in Oakville.  14 months in 60% new French oak, Excellent value for Oakville-Napa Valley.  Just 350 cases produced.

DuMOL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker’s Notes:

Our 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet is a classically built wine typical of this wonderful Napa vintage: deep fruit, enveloping texture, mineral freshness and long supple structure. It’s a harmonious interweaving of four distinct vineyards that intricately balances power and finesse.

With its exceptional farming and rocky volcanic soil, Meteor Vineyard is one of the finest sites in Coombsville. Its fruit dominates the blend and ensures both intensity and delicacy, with soaring aromatics followed by succulent dark fruit. 

True Dog Knoll serves as a new focal point in this vintage, its world-renowned west Oakville deep gravel soils bringing deep texture and mineral focus. 

Layering in a small amount of Petit Verdot from our Roach Estate in St. Helena provides an element of blue fruit and refinement that balances beautifully with the darker brooding power of Ballard Vineyard’s mountaintop muscle and structure.

With its harmonious layers and textures, this wine reminds me of the 2012 Napa Valley vintage. Dark, inky and opaque, it presents aromas of plum, violets and graphite. Beautiful fruit cascades almost immediately to more savory flavors: crushed rock dustiness, cocoa and cedar. A good, firm mineral spine runs through to the long, bittersweet finish. Ever-evolving in the glass, this wine is poised now and will age beautifully over the next 10+ years.

Review:

A ripe, friendly style, with a creamy-textured core of cassis and cherry preserve flavors underscored by anise and apple wood notes that stay nicely

melded with the fruit on the finish. There’s a lingering cast iron note keeping this grounded. -Wine Spectator 93 Points

Rubus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is made from 100 percent Napa Valley Cabernet

Its long finish displays full mature flavors of blackberry, currant and chocolate with just a hint of toasty oak and black cherry. The tannins are refined and polished, allowing the fruit to be the focus.

Serve this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with a variety of bold preparations ranging from Osso Bucco to grilled red meats and cheeses.

Sinegal Estate Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is made from  84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot.

This 2018 Cabernet is a wonderful expression of a superb Napa Valley vintage; exhibiting elegance, power and purity. The nose has enticing aromas of baked blueberry crumble, ripe blackberries, with notes of sweet leather and baking spice. The wine is inky dark and concentrated with flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate, and hints of dried thyme. The wine leaves a lasting impression on the palate with supple tannins, rich blue fruits, and has lift and length from the bright acidity. Upon opening the wine delivers impressive aromas, flavors and texture, but is worthy of ageing for over a decade.

Review:

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon turned out beautifully. Rich, sumptuous and incredibly alluring, the 2018 will drink well right out of the gate. Dark red fruit, mocha, spice and licorice are some of the notes that build in the glass. I would give it a few years in bottle, or alternatively open it in advance. Aeration and the passage of time did wonders for the 2018. It spent 20 months in barrel, 85% new. 

- Antonio Galloni 98 Points

Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

Aromas of cedary oak, currants, black cherries and ripe plums are rich and concentrated on the palate. The firm tannins underlying the wine's core provide balance, leading to a long, lingering finish. The 2011 vintage is reflected in this wine, favoring balance to overt ripeness.

Black Stallion Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release is made from Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The winery takes its name from a major equestrian area that once occupied the grounds. Its calling card is Cabernet Sauvignon, made in a classic Napa Valley style that offers richness and finesse. While single-vineyard wines are occasionally bottled, most Black Stallion wines are made from small lots cherry-picked from the valley’s disparate winegrowing zones. These are then painstakingly blended to create luxurious, unforgettable wines that capture the depth and brilliance of Napa Valley’s diverse growing regions.

This elegant wine begins with aromas of blackberry, black cherry and sandal wood. Flavors of black currant, fennel and lavender are followed by soft acidity and spiced fruit finish. Pairs well with hearty meat dishes. For a cheese selection, Comte, aged Gouda and Point Reyes Original Blue are suggested.

Review:

The name Black Stallion is a tribute to the Silverado equestrian centre, which once occupied the site now home to the winery. Grapes for its Limited Release wines are sourced from higher elevations in the valley, contributing greater power and concentration. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045

-Decanter 95 Points